OWLL’s Winter 2026 Semester Courses

Sponsored by the COA and FCOA

Exciting January - March OWLL Learning Opportunities

OWLL offers low-cost, not-to-be-missed courses for Older, Wiser, Lifelong Learners.

For a complete list of all OWLL's courses over the years, click here.

THE OWLL FALL RECEPTION

Please join us at the OWLL fall reception on September 12 from 3:00 to 4:00 in person at the Community Center. Instructors will preview their courses.

Winter Course Registration begins December 17 for residents ($35 per course) and December 24 for nonresidents ($50 per course) at 781-698-4840 or online at LexRecMa.com. For more information, call Human Services at 781-698-4840.

CONTINUING WINTER SEMESTER COURSES

WINTER 2026 COURSES

All on Zoom

From Real Life to the Screen

(ON ZOOM)

Instructor: Monika Raesch
Four Fridays, 1:00–2:30; Jan 9, 16, 23, 30; ON ZOOM
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This course focuses on true-life stories that have been adapted for the cinema, TV documentaries, vlogs, photojournalism, and the TV crime drama genre.

Travels in the Americas

(ON ZOOM)

Instructor: Bill Gette
Four Mondays, 3:00–4:15, Jan 12, 19, Feb 16, 23
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Bill Gette will take you to four remarkable places that he has visited: Northern Costa Rica, Southern Costa Rica, Alaska, and Arizona.

Emperors Then and Now: Chinese Leadership from Xia to Xi

(ON ZOOM)

Instructor: Caroline Reeves
Six Tuesdays, 10:30–12:00, Jan 13, 20, 27, Feb 3, 10, 17
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We will examine Chinese leadership historically, from Confucius and China’s first emperors to today’s Xi Jinping. We will discuss how China’s people view their leaders and how their leaders approach the responsibility of ruling, extending our understanding to “emperors" and leadership around the world.

What Makes Sondheim Great? ACT II

(ON ZOOM)

Instructor: Gail Leondar-Wright
Six Wednesdays, 11 :00–12 :30, Jan 21, 28, Feb 4, 11, 18, 25
Gail Leondar-Wright, Friends of the COA OWLL instructor
The recently deceased composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim is commonly thought to be one of the most important musical theater artists of the past fifty years, and the single most influential force in bringing the Broadway musical into the modern era. We’ll dig into a few of Sondheim’s shows to discover what makes Sondheim great and why his musicals endure.

Austen and Eliot: Two Controversial Lives and Two Problem Novels—Mansfield Park and Daniel Deronda

(ON ZOOM)

Instructor: Gillian Gill
Six Thursdays, 11:00–12:30, Jan 29, Feb 5, 12, 19, 26, Mar 5
Gillian Gill, Friends of the COA OWLL instructor
This course focuses on two of the most celebrated novelists of nineteenth-century Great Britain: Jane Austen and George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans). We will read and discuss Mansfield Park and Daniel Deronda. Students are asked to read Austen’s teenage novel, Lady Susan, before the first class.

What Is “American” Music?

(ON ZOOM)

Instructor: Laura Zoll
Four Tuesdays, 10:00–11:00, Mar 3, 10, 17, 24, ON ZOOM
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What is “American” about our country’s music?  We will explore the history of this music to try to answer this question.

Winter 2026 Registration for OWLL courses!

Older Wiser Lifelong Learners (OWLL) courses are now sponsored by the COA and the FCOA.

Registration for Fall 2024 OWLL courses will be announced when the new courses are announced.

Registration begins December 17 for residents ($35 per course) and December 24 for nonresidents ($50 per course) at 781-698-4840 or online at LexRecMa.com. For more information, call Human Services at 781-698-4840.